Stay Calm God Wins in the End

Go to the home page: Do You Need A Winning Game Plan For Your Life? 

Matthew 10:16-28                           Audio of this message at the end of the text.

Truett Cathy, the founder of Chick-fil-A has consciously built a business on Biblical principals. He started in the restaurant business in 1946 and after inventing a new way to cook chicken, launched the Chick-fil-A brand in 1961. The mission statement says, "We are in business to glorify God by being a faithful steward of all that is entrusted to us. To have a positive influence on all who come in contact with Chick-fil-A." Even though they have always been closed on Sunday, in 2010 Chick-fil-A became the most productive fast-food company measured by average sales per store. Chick-fil-A generates $2.7 million per year per store while the second most productive is McDonald's with $2.4 million per year per store. And remember, Chick-fil-A does it in a six-day week!

Look at our passage for today. Jesus explains in advance what we are seeing play out in the life of Truett Cathy and his family-owned company. We read here that if we are following Jesus, we are going to be thrown to the wolves. We are going to face problems, ridicule, persecution and all forms of adversities. Satan is stalking us, watching and waiting to trip us up. Satan is the second most powerful force on this earth and we can't beat him back. Only Jesus can beat him back.

Jesus says, "Be shrewd like a snake and calm like a dove." This week we saw Truett Cathy's son do this. He stayed calm and even offered free lemonade to a tiny group of protesters. When you make a full-court-press effort to stand on Biblical principals, you will be blessed. We are not all going to build billion-dollar companies. But, we will all be blessed, protected, and loved. Jesus knows the number of hairs on your head. He loves you so much and is so concerned about your well-being that he keeps track of your every move and thought.

Let us all be inspired by men and women who we see standing up to Satan. If you have have given your heart to Jesus, you have what they have. When Satan attacks you will be shrewd like a snake and calm like a dove.

8 5 2012 by Robby4747 on Mixcloud

No Time To Quit So Eat More Chicken

Go to the home page: Do You Need A Winning Game Plan For Your Life? 

Philippians 1:21-26                                                  Archive at bottom of the page. 

You know I don't talk about politics much but today I have to point out what two elected officials said this week that as Christians we must reject.  The mayors of Chicago and Boston basically said they don't want Chick-fil-A in their cities.  Why?  Because the owner of this private company, the son of the founder, said that he personally agrees with the Biblical definition of marriage.  The Chick-fil-A CEO, Dan Cathy, did not say he would not hire or serve homosexuals, he only said that he personally believes that marraige is between one man and one woman.

Everyone knows that due to his Biblical worldview, his restaurants are closed on Sundays.  This is so employees can go to church with their families.  He doesn't require employees to go to church and has no interest in hiring only people who go to church, he simply wants to make it easy for everyone who works for Chick-fil-A to go to worship services on Sunday.

The easiest thing for Dan Cathy to do at this point in his life is quit.  He doesn't need another restaurant, he doesn't need another car or a vacation home.  He has fought the good fight for decades and could be inclined in the face of this publicity to throw in the towel.  But, if Dan Cathy quits, all Christians lose.  So while I never recommend any person buy any specific product, this one time I am asking you to eat at Chick-fil-A. And, when you are in the restaurant, tell the employees you are there to support Mr. Cathy and their entire organization.

We need to stand with Mr. Cathy and show the world that we notice these mayors. What they are trying to do--block a private business from building in their city--is illegal. They are using their powerful bully pulpits to bully us and we need to stand up to them.   How do we do that?  With our wallets.  If every Christian bought a sandwich at Chick-fil-A it would send an amazing message to Mr. Cathy that we do not want him to quit.

When Paul wrote to the church at Philippi he was probably 80 years old.  He was in jail in Rome and in this passage he is basically saying that he might rather leave this earthly fight and go on to be with Jesus in heaven.   He says, "for me dying is gain."  Then Paul catches himself and realizes that because of what the new followers of Jesus are going through, it is better for him to stick it out with them.  He knows they need a strong leader to encourage them in their walk with Christ.

Just like Paul did not quit, we can't quit and we hope and pray that Dan Cathy doesn't quit.  Whatever the world throws at us we are to stand firm for what the Bible teaches.  In this case, you can stand firm by having a meal at Chick-fil-A.